Dozens of West Michigan immigrants were detained last week during a bus trip to Detroit to process paperwork at the Mexican consulate. The bus chartered for the group took a wrong turn, and wound up on the Ambassador Bridge crossing to Canada.MLive.com File Photo

What otherwise would have been a visit to the city's Mexican consulate for various paperwork appointments went awry Thursday when the bus chartered for the trip took a wrong turn and wound up on the Ambassador Bridge to Canada.

Forty-seven people, some unauthorized immigrants, were detained after federal authorities boarded the bus when it reached the bridge, said Martha Gonzalez-Cortes, CEO of the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan.

Gonzalez-Cortes, whose Center charters such trips each month, said 50 people were aboard: its driver, two Center staff, and 47 immigrants of varying legal status.

Three people were freed within the first hour of being detained because they had legal status. Three others were taken to federal prison in Battle Creek, because they already had been deported from the U.S. on other occasions, Gonzalez-Cortes said.

After 12 hours of questioning, 41 people on the trip were freed with citations. Their release was secured with the help of Mexican consulate staff and attorneys with the Michigan Immigration Rights Center.

U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, also called immigration officials to urge that the group be treated respectfully, an aide said. Huizenga's office was contacted about the ordeal by a constituent.

The immigrants' status in the country ranged from unauthorized to what Gonzalez-Cortes called "under-documented," or in the process of attaining legal status.

Now, the dozens who were cited await immigration court dates, and the Hispanic Center is determining what exactly went wrong and how to move forward.

A woman in the group, whose husband was one of the three sent to prison, told WOOD-TV 8 she fears deportation after the incident.

Five people on the trip ranged in age from nine to 17, Gonzalez-Cortes said. They might be eligible for a federal program that defers action against the children of immigrants who entered the country without authorization.

The harrowing ordeal has taken a toll on the tight-knit Grand Rapids-area immigrant community, and Center staff.

Gonzalez-Cortes said she met with her office on Monday about the incident, and is working to set up a meeting for those involved who wish to receive continued counsel or advice on next steps.

She said she understood that some of the detained might be upset with the Center, conceding "they have a right to be angry, and a right to be scared."

But, she noted, many unauthorized immigrants like those detained daily live in fear.

"The other part of this reality," she said, "is that vulnerable people, who are in a difficult situation now, could have been in a similar situation simply by waking up and going to church on Sunday, or taking their kids to school or daycare."

A spokesperson for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency did not return calls Monday morning seeking comment on the incident.